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Expected the standard romance, got a lot more!

Angie DeMarco knows better than to get involved with a pro ballplayer. Players on the field tend to be players off the field, a fact she learned young thanks to her philandering father. So when she finds herself waking up next to the epitome of a player, she runs. But she can’t run from the consequences.

Pregnant and unemployed, she’s determined to figure something out. She’s getting nowhere with job applications, unemployment checks won’t cover her expenses, and it won’t be long till she’s unable to pay her rent. But that doesn’t mean she has to attach herself to the man she was hoping to avoid, does it?

J.T. is stunned to find out he’s going to be a father, but he’s determined to take responsibility and do the right thing. Angie’s not making it easy, though, first refusing his less-than-romantic proposal, and then accepting it — with a no-sex clause. She doesn’t trust him, no matter how often he shows her that he’s a good guy who can take care of her. Getting her to fall for him, to give him a real chance with her, is going to take more work than he expected. But he’s pretty sure she’s worth it.

But...
I don’t know if I’d necessarily call them loose ends, but there were several pieces played up in the story that ended on an odd note…if it can really be considered ending. Take Angie’s mother, for instance. Angie’s entire distrust of ballplayers comes from the way her father betrayed her mother, something her mother never lets her forget. And as expected, her mom’s none too thrilled that Angie’s gotten herself knocked up by exactly the kind of man she’s always warned her about. But after her mom plays a big role in the climax of the story, she sort of drops out. There’s just no closure there at all.

And J.T.’s brother…he’s all kinds of suspicious of Angie and gives her one hell of a hard time. But then after the big scene at the bakery, that bit is kind of brushed away in favor of the happily ever after. Did he have a change of heart? See Angie for who she really was? Decide he really wasn’t concerned after all? Fall into a volcano? I have no idea.

The Verdict...
I expected a somewhat standard romance, since the book seemed like it was going to go with a very standard plot, but instead I got some pretty good surprises. For one, Angie and J.T. aren’t your typical characters in the got-knocked-up scenario. He’s not a philandering jerk who has to be convinced to settle down and take responsibility, and for all her troubles, Angie isn’t looking for someone to ride in and save her. While J.T.’s just an incredibly good guy, Angie is wary and independent, and it made for a really fun read.

Theirs is a slow journey, with lots of time spent overcoming their hang-ups and looking deeper into the characters. Also a nice change from typical stories in this vein is that they were both just pretty normal people. Their character flaws added to the story instead of going way over the top, and seeing J.T. work so hard to win her over was just heartwarming. I liked him so much that I started getting a bit annoyed with Angie’s reluctance to give him a chance, but when I thought about it, I really couldn’t blame her. After all, it’s easy to get snowed by someone who may not turn out to be who they seem.

It’s a marriage of convenience, of course, and while I obviously expected it to build up into something more, I like the way it was done — nicely paced, a few steamy moments tossed into the mix, and ultimately a sweet happily ever af

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